Recordings That You Are Considering

[Octave]

Anyone have this on the shelf?

I just mentioned this one (MAX II) recently, in discussing Vaet with GMG's Que.  I got it pretty cheap from BRO, and though I've only listened to it once, I thought it was excellent.  I can see myself collecting recordings of this group Cinquecento.  I was most taken with the Vaet works on that disc.  Another Hyperion disc by the same group was even more striking to me:

[asin]B001PLNDR0[/asin]

I think Que was listening to the Vaet series from the Dufay Ensemble.

[kishnevi]

[Re: Barber of Seville]
IMO the overture and the first act are superb, the second act is a dud. Overall, it is one of the most overrated operas.

I can see why you say that, although I wouldn't call the second act a dud; it just has less musical moments that grab you than the first act does.  But it requires a greater talent for comic acting than the first act does, especially in the episode in which the Count pretends to be Don Basilio's student/substitute.  Also, not every recording includes the aria Rossina originally wrote for the Count in the second act finale,  a brilliant showpiece Rossini then recycled into the final rondo of Cenerentola.   That said, I've not yet listened to Abbado's recording, so I don't know how it measures up (and the track listing rather annoyingly doesn't  specifically include that final aria, so I can't tell if it's in there as part of the 8 minute long next to the last track, or not).

[Octave]

Andreas Staier: CONCERTOS AND SOLO WORKS FOR FORTEPIANO (Warner/Teldec, 6cd)

I greatly enjoyed that Staier EDITION box set on DHM/Sony, and I'd like to hear more from him.  Does anyone know the recordings in this Warner box, or even just these works?  I haven't heard any of them.  (Aside from the Mozart, of course, but not Staier's recording here.)

[Bogey]

I just mentioned this one (MAX II) recently, in discussing Vaet with GMG's Que.  I got it pretty cheap from BRO, and though I've only listened to it once, I thought it was excellent.  I can see myself collecting recordings of this group Cinquecento.  I was most taken with the Vaet works on that disc.  Another Hyperion disc by the same group was even more striking to me:



I think Que was listening to the Vaet series from the Dufay Ensemble.

Thank you for the feedback!

[Que]

Andreas Staier: CONCERTOS AND SOLO WORKS FOR FORTEPIANO (Warner/Teldec, 6cd)

I greatly enjoyed that Staier EDITION box set on DHM/Sony, and I'd like to hear more from him.  Does anyone know the recordings in this Warner box, or even just these works?  I haven't heard any of them.  (Aside from the Mozart, of course, but not Staier's recording here.)

Proceed without restraint - a superb box!

I just mentioned this one (MAX II) recently, in discussing Vaet with GMG's Que.  I got it pretty cheap from BRO, and though I've only listened to it once, I thought it was excellent.  I can see myself collecting recordings of this group Cinquecento.  I was most taken with the Vaet works on that disc.  Another Hyperion disc by the same group was even more striking to me:

[asin]B001PLNDR0[/asin]

I think Que was listening to the Vaet series from the Dufay Ensemble.

Cinquecento sounds damn good upon sampling. new erato pointed out a sale at MDT a few weeks ago but I hesitated - and now I regret it...

They get high praise from Amazon's Giordano Bruno too - a reliable guide in Early Music performances IMO.

Q

[Lisztianwagner]

As I'm a huge fan of Gustav Holst:

[asin]B007QEHQY6[/asin]

[Octave]

Cheers for the Staier feedback, Que!

Can anyone tell me their opinion, or anything they've heard about the performances in the following Debussy collection from Saraste (orchestral) and Pommier (piano)?  I don't know those artists or these recordings.  The Nash (plus Delphine Seyrig!  who I saw recently in a marvelous campy 70s vampire film) chamber record is of course very famous.  I wonder if I should skip this box and cross my fingers that I find a cheap used copy of the Veritas 2cd with a disc of the Nash's Ravel, instead?

[kishnevi]

Cheers for the Staier feedback, Que!

Can anyone tell me their opinion, or anything they've heard about the performances in the following Debussy collection from Saraste (orchestral) and Pommier (piano)?  I don't know those artists or these recordings.  The Nash (plus Delphine Seyrig!  who I saw recently in a marvelous campy 70s vampire film) chamber record is of course very famous.  I wonder if I should skip this box and cross my fingers that I find a cheap used copy of the Veritas 2cd with a disc of the Nash's Ravel, instead?

I have the Saraste and Pommier performances as a budget 4CD box;  it was one of my early purchases as a CD buyer, probably six or seven years ago. Truth to tell, it's been a long time since I've listened to any of it, but I recall them as relatively good.  But I've got a lot more Debussy under my belt since then,  so I'm not sure what my reaction would be now.

The box I have is currently part of Arkivmusic's clearance sale, if you are interested in that option--which of course would leave you hunting for the Nash 2CD issue you referred to.

BTW, Que got in before me, but I would say I like the Staier Warner box better than the Staier DHM box, so consider that another vote in favor of getting it.

[Mirror Image]

Cheers for the Staier feedback, Que!

Can anyone tell me their opinion, or anything they've heard about the performances in the following Debussy collection from Saraste (orchestral) and Pommier (piano)?  I don't know those artists or these recordings.  The Nash (plus Delphine Seyrig!  who I saw recently in a marvelous campy 70s vampire film) chamber record is of course very famous.  I wonder if I should skip this box and cross my fingers that I find a cheap used copy of the Veritas 2cd with a disc of the Nash's Ravel, instead?

The Nash Ensemble Debussy recordings on Virgin Classics are absolutely heavenly. Some of the best performances I've heard of his chamber music. I'm not too crazy about Saraste's orchestral performances of Debussy, especially when there are so many other performances from Martinon, Boulez, Haitink, Dutoit, etc. to choose from.

To answer your question, yes, see if you can find that Debussy/Ravel 2-CD set with the Nash Ensemble on Virgin Classics. In my opinion, that Debussy Virgin set you posted above isn't worth it, especially when there are so many others to choose from.

[Octave]

Thanks MI and Jeffrey for opinions on the Debussy; I think I will cross my fingers that another incarnation of the Nash chamber record becomes available, maybe even with some of their other recordings appended.

BTW, Que got in before me, but I would say I like the Staier Warner box better than the Staier DHM box, so consider that another vote in favor of getting it.

And thanks for that, Jeffrey.  I want to get deeper into Staier's art; I am most enthused about acquiring his late (and other?) Schubert, which I heard before I had begun to really enjoy the sound of the fortepiano.

Since the weekend and coffee are working their magic on me, maybe I should ask opinion of a handful of other things that look interesting to me:

1. Harnoncourt/CMW's recordings of Haydn's choral music, particularly the masses and other sacred music.  (Other than his SEVEN LAST WORDS.)  I did a little research at GMG, but oddly I am not coming up with much; I'm certain it's my sloppy searches.

2. two of the cheapo Deutsche Harmonia Mundi (~Sony) box sets, for Collegium Aureum and Cantus Cölln; actually, if any of those DHM boxes are indispensable, I'd like to know about them.  I have the Freiburger Barockorchester and Andreas Staier collections, both of which I have enjoyed very much.  The first two groups have done things I've liked, but I don't know these reissued recordings.

3. Two release by the Tal/Groethuysen piano duo: their OOP disc of Louis Théodore Gouvy, of which I'm thinking of getting a used copy; and the recent 6cd collection ROMANTIC PIANO MUSIC FOR FOUR HANDS (one disc each devoted to Czerny, Dvorak, Reger, Wagner, Koechlin, plus a disc of various); see this link for a zoomable back cover w/contents:
http://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Piano-Music-Four-Hands/dp/B007J26IJY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1357373288&sr=1-1&keywords=tal+groethuysen
I really like this duo's collected Schubert four-hands music; there have been a few weeks in my life (non-consecutive) when that music has been my favorite in the world.

4. Dmitri Kitaenko/Kitajnko's Prokofiev (the piano concertos with Krainev [Apex] and the symphonies).  I will admit to not having done much research at GMG yet on these.  I know very little Prokofiev, mainly just that firebreathing Leinsdorf Sony box, Matti Raekallio's solo piano recordings, and some very interesting mainly solo piano morsels here and there (Richter, Argerich, etc.).

5. Was Herreweghe's first (?) Bach Matthäus-Passion (Harmonia Mundi, but w/Crook, Jacobs, Kooy, Schlick, Cold, ~1985) ever reissued in some more recent form (omnibus package, etc) that might not be appearing in my various searches?  I have and like the later HM recording (Bostridge, Scholl, et al), but I keep hearing really good things about this earlier one.

6. This is surely not the best place to ask, but I'd like to expose myself [behave, please!] to Hugo Wolf.  As usual, getting very interesting interpretations of all his beautiful songs will probably involve stockpiling a lot of product.  Is there one, two, three, even several items that might be ideal?  Hm.  I'm already thinking I should ask that question elsewhere, in a dedicated thread.  Maybe I should rephrase: if I don't yet dislike Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau---and I do like him, very much, still---is the DFD/Barenboim DG box too much of a good thing?


There are two in-print boxes from EMI, the ANNIVERSARY EDITION and the DFD/Moore (a bit expensive, all things considered); unfortunately the collection I want the most (the HUGO WOLF SOCIETY box of ~1930s recordings) is out of print, and only available as Arkiv CDRs at full price, probably still in mediocre masters.  I've also heard good things about a DFD/Schwarzkopf SPANISCHES LIEDERBUCH (DG Originals, 2cd), though that seems to be OOP and a little bit expensive.  That last one is the most tempting, really.

Most of what I know already is the famous Schwarzkopf/Furtwängler disc, which I got in her EMI ICON collection, a happy accident that's whet my appetite.  Someone please tell me if I should move this question elsewhere.

[Octave]

A Supraphon label question:

Sometimes I notice two apparently-distinct Supraphon releases with the same cover and significant different release dates, with the older of the two several dollars cheaper than the newer.  I have noticed this at vendors other than just Amazon, but also at Amazon.  (Recently when looking at Martinu and Janacek records.)  Is there anything to know about this?  Do the more recent issues have significant remastering?  I usually only buy one copy of a record, so of course it's hard to know.

[jlaurson]

1. Harnoncourt/CMW's recordings of Haydn's choral music, particularly the masses and other sacred music.  (Other than his SEVEN LAST WORDS.)  I did a little research at GMG, but oddly I am not coming up with much; I'm certain it's my sloppy searches.

Very good stuff. I prefer Hickox (Chandos) by the smallest of margins, though... in HIP Haydn Masses. Both, but also marginally, ahead of Gardiner (Arkiv). In short: You can't go wrong, they're all fine. Nothing touches Weill (Vivarte) for me, though. 

3. Two release by the Tal/Groethuysen piano duo: their OOP disc of Louis Théodore Gouvy, of which I'm thinking of getting a used copy; and the recent 6cd collection ROMANTIC PIANO MUSIC FOR FOUR HANDS (one disc each devoted to Czerny, Dvorak, Reger, Wagner, Koechlin, plus a disc of various); see this link for a zoomable back cover w/contents:
http://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Piano-Music-Four-Hands/dp/B007J26IJY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1357373288&sr=1-1&keywords=tal+groethuysen
I really like this duo's collected Schubert four-hands music; there have been a few weeks in my life (non-consecutive) when that music has been my favorite in the world.

I hear you. Heard them live a few times, like their Schubert... and their Rheinberger-Reger Goldberg Variations was my favorite of the year, three years ago: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2009/12/best-recordings-of-2009-1.html

4. Dmitri Kitaenko/Kitajnko's Prokofiev (the piano concertos with Krainev [Apex] and the symphonies).  I will admit to not having done much research at GMG yet on these.  I know very little Prokofiev, mainly just that firebreathing Leinsdorf Sony box, Matti Raekallio's solo piano recordings, and some very interesting mainly solo piano morsels here and there (Richter, Argerich, etc.).

The Kitaenko/Krainev Prokofiev Piano Concertos are among my favorites; perhaps THE favorites.

5. Was Herreweghe's first (?) Bach Matthäus-Passion (Harmonia Mundi, but w/Crook, Jacobs, Kooy, Schlick, Cold, ~1985) ever reissued in some more recent form (omnibus package, etc) that might not be appearing in my various searches?  I have and like the later HM recording (Bostridge, Scholl, et al), but I keep hearing really good things about this earlier one.

It was re-released with a HMU Catalogue as a mid-low price in 2003. The original release isn't crazy expensive, used. An earlier 1992? release exists also, and it had a white cover....

6. This is surely not the best place to ask, but I'd like to expose myself [behave, please!] to Hugo Wolf.  As usual, getting very interesting interpretations of all his beautiful songs will probably involve stockpiling a lot of product.  Is there one, two, three, even several items that might be ideal?  Hm.  I'm already thinking I should ask that question elsewhere, in a dedicated thread.  Maybe I should rephrase: if I don't yet dislike Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau---and I do like him, very much, still---is the DFD/Barenboim DG box too much of a good thing?


There are two in-print boxes from EMI, the ANNIVERSARY EDITION and the DFD/Moore (a bit expensive, all things considered); unfortunately the collection I want the most (the HUGO WOLF SOCIETY box of ~1930s recordings) is out of print, and only available as Arkiv CDRs at full price, probably still in mediocre masters.  I've also heard good things about a DFD/Schwarzkopf SPANISCHES LIEDERBUCH (DG Originals, 2cd), though that seems to be OOP and a little bit expensive.  That last one is the most tempting, really.

Most of what I know already is the famous Schwarzkopf/Furtwängler disc, which I got in her EMI ICON collection, a happy accident that's whet my appetite.  Someone please tell me if I should move this question elsewhere.

Yes, basically. A little Wolf goes a long way... but then Fi-Di was very much suited to Wolf. In this essay (LISTEN Magazine) on Dieskau (unofficial link from this site:_ http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2012/09/listen-up-remembering-fischer-dieskau.html that's expounded upon... there are two single discs of FiDi (both with S.Richter, one on Orfeo, the other on DG) that are without overlap and the best of his Wolf and just the right dosage.

[Sergeant Rock]

Very good stuff. I prefer Hickox (Chandos)

Hey, Jens. Link takes one to Herreweghe's Bach, not Hickox's Haydn.

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Since the weekend and coffee are working their magic on me, maybe I should ask opinion of a handful of other things that look interesting to me:

1. Harnoncourt/CMW's recordings of Haydn's choral music, particularly the masses and other sacred music.  (Other than his SEVEN LAST WORDS.)  I did a little research at GMG, but oddly I am not coming up with much; I'm certain it's my sloppy searches.

When considering a box of Haydn masses, perhaps this thread will help...

A number of you seem to be enjoying this one:


I have long had this one on my wishlist (and appears to be OP, but will hopefully return soon):
[asin]B0000C41W5[/asin]

How do they compare? All the enthusiasm makes me want to run out and get the Naxos (if only I didn't have myself on rations this month )!

This isn't going to be terrifically helpful, but I' remember being disappointed by the Gardiner - I don't know why - and I think I've listened to it all of twice. The Naxos box, which I'm still exploring, is fabulous.

As much as I like the Gardiner, I think upon re-listening that you will agree that it seems to be being readied for Westminster Abbey (or at least Winchester Cathedral). Weil is playing for a chapel packed full with 30 listeners. Only one is historically accurate... 0:)

Accurate Schmakurate! I want my masses big with bombast. I want the thunder and lighting to be smoking through my speakers! I want, I want, I want to be a lumberjack!!!!!   

If you want the most manly masses, Harnoncourt is your...man 

...or not 

Sarge

[Octave]

Jens and Sarge, thank you both very much for all that help.  Those recommendations are greatly appreciated, Jens, and now I determined to hear that Tal/Groethuysen GOLDBERGs arrangement, especially as a recent convert to Reger.

Sarge, I actually have the Brilliant complete masses box and love it, and that particular OOP Gardiner set was my (borrowed, library) introduction to those works altogether.  Looking forward to digging deeper into these, though.  Thanks!

[Sergeant Rock]

Sarge, I actually have the Brilliant complete masses box and love it, and that particular OOP Gardiner set was my (borrowed, library) introduction to those works altogether.  Looking forward to digging deeper into these, though.  Thanks!

I own Harnoncourt, Bernstein, Weil and the Naxos box. I do love Harnoncourt's masses the most and recommend them enthusiastically. Harnoncourt is intense and dramatic. His Paukenmesse, for example, illustrates the agony and pity of war like no other. It's actually uncomfortable to listen to, with little of the genial "Papa" Haydn in evidence.

Sarge

[Brian]

Very good stuff. I prefer Hickox (Chandos) by the smallest of margins, though... in HIP Haydn Masses. Both, but also marginally, ahead of Gardiner (Arkiv). In short: You can't go wrong, they're all fine. Nothing touches Weill (Vivarte) for me, though. 

Websites other than Amazon carry the Bruno Weil recordings for much, much less than $272.

[Opus106]

Websites other than Amazon carry the Bruno Weil recordings for much, much less than $272.

It's actually Haydn.

All that and The Creation are included in



And as Que already mentioned, this OOP box is still available at JPC:

[Brian]

Oops! Thanks Navneeth, guess I'm not fully awake yet. 

[Que]

How could I have missed this one

[asin]B0012DACLQ[/asin]

Any comments are welcome!

Q